Category: Trademarks

And so it is March. Flowers will bloom, trees will bud, and collegiate titans will clash in the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Perhaps you have heard of March Madness. If you have not, then this tidbit might not be for you. If you have, then you know that March Madness is the moniker […]

Last month, in a rather unremarkable decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed a refusal to register Jed’s Jerky for… jerky. The examining attorney refused registration on the ground that the mark so resembled Jed’s for barbeque sauce that consumers would likely be confused about whether Jed’s Jerky and Jed’s barbeque sauce come […]

What does a trademark nerd do at Thanksgiving time? This one searched the Patent and Trademark Office trademark database for turkey trademarks. Good times! I learned some interesting things from the turkey trademark records, and I think that some might amuse you. ( ® denotes marks that are registered; ™ denotes marks that were, but […]

Donald J. Trump is the most highly branded candidate who ever ran for office. Regardless of what anyone thinks about the man, one can’t help but be impressed by the sheer number OF Trump trademarks, and the marks themselves. Because I am a trademark nerd, I spent too much time looking into his trademark records […]

Louis Vuitton sells luxury products that command very high prices. Its trademarks are very well known and they are extremely valuable. This makes LV a tantalizing and frequent target of counterfeiters. Customs and Border Patrol does what it can to stem the tide of counterfeit products entering the US. CBP reports that, in 2014, it […]

What are Cheese Zombies? Delicious! No, really – what are Cheese Zombies? According to Courtney, aka the Gourmet Rooster blogger, a cheese zombie is “a roll, stuffed with melted cheese.” Here’s a picture of one that she made: Are they hard to make? Not if you follow her step-by-step recipe. Step one – Get […]

It’s that time of year when college football fans are at their best, or their worst. Next week, Clemson and Alabama will go head to head in the BCS championship game in Glendale, Arizona. I don’t have a dog in the fight (I met my wife in Ann Arbor on the campus of the University […]

Back in April, I wrote about a client of mine who invented the wheel – a new, lightweight, stable, good-looking bicycle wheel. Several patents were awarded to Toledo inventor Rolf Dietrich for his high end wheels that are sold under the Rolf trademark. In April, I noted that the patents have expired and that anyone […]

As the owner of a trademark or brand name, you have the right to stop others from using a mark that is too similar to your trademark. To establish a trademark right in the US, one must use the mark by putting it on her product and selling the product. In fact, trademark registration does […]

My mom made potato salad – very good potato salad. She made potato salad with potatoes, mayonnaise, eggs, onion, celery, and salt. More specifically, she made potato salad with Idaho® potatoes, Hellman’s® mayonnaise, eggs, onion, celery, and salt. No other mayonnaise, and no other potato, would do. Mom believed that Hellman’s® was the best mayonnaise. […]